


Could You Handle The Truth?

by davestriderhomostuck



Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M, Multi, Pre-X-Files, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-21
Updated: 2019-04-24
Packaged: 2019-11-26 18:30:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18184199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/davestriderhomostuck/pseuds/davestriderhomostuck
Summary: Federal worker seeks out help from an unlikely source- a bus boy(well girl) who works in multiple restaurantsX files AU?





	1. Complexity Is In The Eye Of The Beholder

**Author's Note:**

> So I just had this idea for an AU and I ran with it. Hopefully someone (if anyone) likes it but I hope I do The X Files justice. If I have any other notes I will hopefully be able to keep them at the end. I will state there wont be sexual acts every chapter but with that said I will gradually pick up the pace as this story progress with adult themes so hopefully you guys will stick around till then.

Dana Scully was a, or at least she thought, a very simple person. A childhood cancer had made her come to terms with her life at a very early age but as soon as the cancer came, it left as almost as miracle to her. Definitely a miracle to her very devote catholic parents Captain William Scully and Margaret Scully. She was the second youngest out of four children, William Jr (Bill), Melissa, Dana and Charlie grew up on many different naval bases around the world due to their father's profession as a rear admiral in the navy. When they got older entering high school and university or in the Navy for Bill, the Scullys decided to settle down in the DC area and prepare for Williams retirement. 

When Dana was diagnosed with a rare aggressive form of cancer in her early teens, she came to know the nitty gritty facts of life at the age of 14, but after only receiving a few treatments of aggressive radiation a progress checkup had found that the cancer she had only had a few months prior vanished in its entirety. Doctors were puzzled as to how such a combative cancer could just disappear but they deemed it a medical miracle as did the rest of her catholic family. Dana on the other hand wanted to learn more about the so-called miracle, she then dedicated her life to science so maybe she could perform the same miracle on others and understand more of the phenomenon. 

Now she was 23 set to graduate from the University of Maryland as an undergrad in a few months. She recently started a job as a lowly part timer dishwasher at a local chain restaurant so she could have money to survive but still keeping her mind free for her future and current schoolwork not to mention her clinicals and residency she would be taking within the next few years. 

While bouncing in-between end of the year school work, graduation and multiple restaurants through the same chain, she saw something she couldn’t shake.... a drug deal gone bad (or what she thought was a drug deal) while taking out her trash from the end of shift duties. 

Stepping out to take the trash to the dumpster, she could have sworn one of the bartenders was arguing with a patron before a series of bright flashes and a loud cacophony of ear-splitting shrieks burst through the night. She ducked behind a dumpster during the ruckus and silently cursed at herself for choosing the DC area to work in where she couldn't even own pepper spray without registering it as a weapon and if she was going through that trouble, she was going to buy her own side arm-which she hadn't yet. Thankfully the noise and flashes subsided with a few seconds of happening and when she saw an opportunity to slip into the kitchen unnoticed, she rushed for the back door she came through. Thinking the whole ordeal only lasted 30 seconds at most she went to go tell the manager about the situation only to be reprimanded for leaving for 27 minutes without telling anyone. Trying to think of how in the world she was gone for that long when it all happened so fast, she stuttered trying to explain what happened out back. 

“Sir I would never abandon my work crew but I think someone was shot outside behind the dumpster, I heard-” She felt helpless, desperately trying to not to be disrespectful but he waived his hands in her face as she disclosed what occurred behind the restaurant. 

“I know every excuse in the book, get back to work or I'll have you wrote up for insubordination” Her tall burly closing manager, Rob, wagged his finger at her. Turning his heals he snapped his fingers for her to finish her work. 

Nothing made her blood boil more than someone treating her like she was a dog. While she respected authority, she also understood the limits of their power. However, she let this slide but made a mental note of the instance for the future. A man could be lying dead outside after all. She slipped into the dish room to finish her job and while the dish machine ran, she pulled out her phone to make a call to the police department. 

“911 what is your emergency” the operator asked on the line. 

“I think someone was attacked,” She relayed the information she saw out back giving the operator the address of the restaurant and a description of the noises and screaming that she heard while taking the trash out. She was almost positive there were only two people other than her out by the dumpster. As she clarified the events she nearly jumped out of her skin when Rob came up and yelled at her 

“Scully! Are we paying you to talk on your phone?!” He had his hands on his hips in a parental way, as if she were a small child getting scolded. She quickly out of reflex hung up and apologized gritting her teeth. 

“No, sorry. It was important but it won't happen again.” She should have taken the teachers aid position within the university, she thought to herself. But that was a full-time job and she wouldn’t get the money directly just put toward her scholarships. Rob walked off sighing and muttering about ungrateful kids. 

Finishing her shift, she exited the font of the restaurant sighing as strobes of red and blue lit up the alley way adjoining the back where the dumpster was. She pondered if she should stop and give a statement but her thoughts were interrupted as a car horn sounded within earshot reminding her to hurry it up and walk home because DC was not a safe place after dark for anyone let alone for a co-ed. Besides she gave her information to the 911 operator... or at least she thought she did. 

She drove to the apartment she shared with her sister Melissa under a fog of the days events. When she finally walked in, she shrugged off her jacket and shoes, throwing her keys in Melissa’s quartz bowl that sat in the entry way on a small black side table. Melissa came through the door and greeted a stiff Dana with a warm hug. She smelled of cedar and lavender which relaxed Dana into a comfort she could only find with her sisters new age madness. It wasn’t so insane that Melissa thought essential oils would help her relax it was her idea that rocks and geodes and crystals could ward off evil and bring some aspect of spiritual awareness that Dana couldn’t get past. She still loved her sister and understood she wanted to find herself in her own religion but it made Dana question herself and she didn’t take enjoyment in squandering the very basis of her life. 

“You should try this new bath bomb I made at the store, you seem so tense and negativity is just rolling off you. Are you ok?” Melissa worked at a local craft boutique and considered it the modern apothecary. She did, weirdly, could always tell when people were up and down. Dana always chalked it up to her being very good at reading body language and being such a people person at a young age. 

Melissa pulled out of the embrace to stare into her eyes, searching for any sign of reassurance. She wore a painting smock covered in a colorful spatter of dried paint, her necklace with multiple charms and various gemstones matched perfectly to her vivid display. Even though they both were endowed with bright fiery red hair as children Melissa's hair turn more of a strawberry blonde from being sun-bleached over the years while Danas kept the same stunning coppery tone. 

“I'm fine,” Dana tried smiling to reassure her sister that she truly was but even she felt the insincerity on her own face. Melissa gave her a disconcerting look arching her eyebrow, wrinkling her forehead. 

Sighing she dropped her shoulders and started to tell Melissa all about her day and how she could have just witnessed a crime. Walking into the living room of their apartment she flopped onto the couch that they bought from a garage sale so the padding that was once fluffy, thick, and soft was now well worn and flat. Melissa threw up her hands when she was nearly finished with her story which stopped her from telling her how much of an asshole her manager is. 

“WOA you lost 30 minutes of time?!” Melissa pulled Dana into sitting upright as she rolled her eyes. 

“No I probably just lost track of time, it felt like less than a minute though.” Her memory flashed back into the moment the ghastly screaming occurred and her heart began to race. 

“I need to go study for finals,” She leapt up trying to cover the quiver in her voice. Melissa tried to plea with her to stay in the room but she was already in her own room and closing the door behind her. 

Her room was nothing like the rest of the apartment, it was sleek and organized. She left the walls bare except for the shelves that were littered her text books and other random literature. Her black desk had neatly stacked papers and binders, next to her laptop and printer. Her dresser was pushed into her closet to maximize space and to ensure her aesthetic of causality wasn't bogged down by her childhood dresser. 

She quickly threw on yoga pants and an old sweater, felling more at home she stared at her books. Study or read Moby Dick for the 5 billionth time? Studying would have to wait she needed comfort and Moby Dick was exactly what that required. Her fingers lingered over the cover as she laid down on her bed. It was true she did have a simple life. 

Little did she know that would all come crashing down when she drifted to sleep. All thanks to one person, one very complicated person. 

Fox Mulder.


	2. Chapter 2

FBI Agent Fox Mulder, or as he preferred “Agent Mulder” or just simply “Mulder”, tried his hardest not to live a complicated life. To him he only had one main goal in his life; uncover the truth. Whether that be a case of a rampant serial killer, the brainwashing of a cult, or even a government cover up story. Sometimes knowing the truth of the crime made his life very troublesome. 

In search of these truths had had become more open minded to the endless possibilities of what could actually be out in the world and he wasn’t afraid of speak out about his opinion. Recently he had picked up a nick name he couldn't get away from, “Spooky Mulder”. He wasn’t sure the exact origins but he knew the assistant director he was under knew of it. Even though his methods had been proved time and time again, catching not one but two serial killers within the months he had gotten out of training, he was still ostracized for his opinions. Despite having an Oxford education, he was still out of his mind. 

All because of what happened when he was 12. 

When he was 12 his normal life came to a screeching halt, his younger sister Samantha was kidnapped. He was babysitting her when she was taken and all he could remember about the night was a bright flash of light and she was gone. After seeing what hypnotherapy did for victims of crimes he investigated in, he went to his own session and found out the events of the night. He believed her to be abducted by an outside force, not of this earth. When the bright light shined in his eyes, he saw a figure of a man in the door way but he couldn’t see any other distinguishable features. When he went to get his father's gun Samantha was lifted into the air by a beam of white light and the sound of roaring filled the room. After finally retrieving the gun he lifted it to fire it in the air but it wouldn’t fire any bullets. Even with hypnotherapy he couldn’t remember anything else after that until his parents got home. 

Mulder added his sister's disappearance file to his own collection of unexplained files, which he called the x files due to one file named X-649176. At first, he thought it was just ufo siting's being pushed off the radar but it was so much more. It all fascinated him, and excelling in the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI gave him freedom to look in to the files. He had kept an eye out for cases involving similar aspects of his sister's abduction, such as flashes of light, wailing, and time or memory loss of the event. Every now and then he would have an active case with one or two and nothing come of it except for solving the real case at hand not involving something “spooky” but he had come across a few that fueled his desire to know and investigate more. 

His passion was ignited again thanks to Danny, an agent in the bureau who would give him a heads up on cases or if he knew of information that wasn’t widely known or shared, he was there. He didn't seek Danny out very much so he could stay under the radar of their supervisors and who else cared of his sources. But one morning Danny sent him an email with a local police report marked Urgent in the subjects. Ever rarely did he send a personal email involving a case let alone a case that wouldn’t be approved by their supervisors it was always a paper file or slips of papers leading to the directory but never a direct email. 

Mulder read over the file and he understood why, the 911 caller had the exact thing happen to him. He also discovered the victim was one of their suspects for a local spree killer they were investigating. So, he assumed if anyone was looking over their email, they would assume that’s why he contacted him. The report listed the 911 caller as unknown as they hadn't been able to contact her in the days that had passed since the murder. Mulder listened to recording of the call to make sure the operator didn’t record the call wrong. 

As he listened, he took his own notes to compare to the report. He closed his eyes and soaked in the recording first and on the second loop he scribbled down, “young female, midwestern accent(?) sounds of water rushing” her voice was breathy in a hushed tone but it didn’t waver when she recounted the event of a wailing or screaming and bright white light that nearly blinded her. Her voice only cached when the 911 operator asked about the time frame. She said she came back in to the restaurant and they told her she had been gone for 27 minutes when she had just left for only a minute. And just before she could tell the operator why she was behind the restaurant in the first place if she was a visitor or worker someone yelled on the caller's end and she hung up abruptly. 

Mulder sighed and the sleep out of his eyes and read in the file that the officer first on scene noted the restaurant was closed on arrival and didn’t pursue for a witness any further choosing to secure the scene first. Mulder groaned as he saw management had yet to be contacted at the restaurant, he looked up the phone number and marked it down next to his notes of the caller. Since the FBI had taken over the case due to their suspect being killed, he would have to do some of the detective work. He just needed to know who the caller was and get a solid account of what happened. 

The phone she called from wasn’t in anyone's name, it was a pay as you go phone. When they attempted to call the number, it went straight to an unset-up voice mailbox. That was odd to Mulder, she had the voice of a younger college student so he thought she would definitely live on her phone as most young people did. He went back to the tape and listened to the ending again, the yelling is what made him suspect something was off. Pulling the audio of the last 6 seconds he could make out a gruff male voice hollering “Scully! Are we pay-” and the line went dead. 

Was her name Scully? What kind of female name is that? A nick name? He wrote the name next the description of which he thought was he caller but he wasn’t so sure he was accurate in his vocal profile anymore. He looked at the clock on his computer monitor and picked up his suit jacket off the back of his chair. He could get down to the crime scene to survey it and by that time the restaurant should be open or at least have the morning shift there. 

… 

After driving there, he studied the crime scene but nothing came to him. The body had been removed already so all that was left was crime tape and evidence markers. He walked around front and looked into the dark store front windows. He cupped his hands around his eyes and pressed up against the glass door when he heard someone clear their throat behind him. 

“We don’t open till 11,” A male who looked to be in his upper 20s said, lifting his mouth in a fake smile. He was wearing all black from his black jeans to a black button up dress shirt he carried a charcoal grey apron with a nametag on it. Mulder couldn’t make out the name on his tag but he would soon find out. 

“Yeah sorry,” Mulder reached into the inside of his jacket and pulled out his identification and introduced himself. 

“I’m Alex, I’m the bartender manager.” He nods and points his thumb at the side of the building towards the alley, “You're here cause of what happened yesterday right? Dead dude?” 

Mulder nodded and moved out of the way so Alex could unlock the door. Following him inside the dark building he asked him if he was there that night. 

“I helped close but I left earlier than the others I couldn’t tell you anything after that.” Alex slung his apron over his left shoulder as he flipped on some lights and illuminated the empty rows of tables. Mulder looked around the area and he remembered he is the head of the bartending side of the facility. 

“So why is a bartender opening on a back to back shift?” Mulder cocked an eyebrow towards Alex. Alex turned around after walking away from the light switches. He sighed leaning against a counter top that lined a side wall with LED TVs in the ceiling corners angled to be viewable from sitting at the counter. 

“Were super short staffed my dude, that’s why I left early last night.” He said matter-of-factly as Mulder was taken aback from being called ‘my dude’ but also the shear casualty in his voice. Alex turned his back to Mulder, stacking glasses muttering about how he hated mornings. 

Mulder sighed in defeat he could tell he wasn’t going to get very far with him alone then he remembered the girl. Scully maybe? He asked Alex if he knew of anyone named that or if he knew any one named that or if he heard wrong. 

“Scully?” he turned around with a questioning look on his face. His puzzled features relaxed as he breathed, “Oh ya mean Dana.” 

“College age female?” Mulder lifted his eyebrows and wondered if she was who she was looking for. 

“Oh yeah, little red head, her dad knows the chain manager so one thing led to another and now she does dishes part time. I’m not a big fan of nepotism but she fucking smoking so I can't complain. Oh and she does her job that too” he tacked that last bit on breaking away from a dream like gaze. 

“So where could I possible go to find her is she working again tonight?” Mulder pulled out a notebook and a pen from the inside of his jacket pocket. 

“Dude trust me she isn't even going to bat an eye at you,” Alex looked up from the gasses he was transferring to one spot to another and saw the note book in his hands. "OH yeah you aren't trying to get with her, sorry not my usual shift, lemme look up he file if I have the keys.” 

Mulder wasn’t opposed to a hook up, but this was a case after all and he would never let a coed ruin his chance at getting to the bottom of whatever the truth maybe. Alex walked through a hall way and left Mulder in the main dining room with his thoughts. He wondered if this girl really did see anything, he hoped she would have some sort of answer to all his questions and if not all then just any she could answer would make him eternally grateful. After a few minutes of waiting Alex returned with a slip of paper. 

“I don’t have access to the files but we have an address book in our office and we had a slip filled out for her, there's two addresses on here ones her sisters' shop. We usually have to call there because she is horrible about answering her phone but she usually comes right in.” Alex hands him a paper with the same phone number he called earlier and two separate addresses. Next to one address was a phone number and the overhead read ‘The Juniper Bush’ 

Mulder thanked Alex and left with the addresses he would try the shop first since it was closer. On the car drive over, he couldn’t help but think to himself if he was any closer to finding out what happened to his sister or if this Scully character would lead him to another dead end. 

When he arrived, he noticed the crystals and plants seemed to be the main them of the shop judging by the display window. He opened the door and he was greeted to an earthy wet smell. Water trickled from a garden fountain set up behind the cash register, which drowned out the door chime. 

“Dana is in the back” a woman said as she stocked a countertop with shrink wrapped items. The woman had long mousey hair, a reddish color but streaks of red could be picked out. She wore a long breezy dress that ruffled at the edges 

“Dana Scully? How do you know I'm here for her and not you” Mulder stopped and asked the woman. 

“Do you want all the reasons or just that I know Danas type?” She turned and smirked, “on second thought you aren't her type at all she likes the button up collar kind, oh hunny your aura is just reading trouble” 

Mulder looked down at himself and unconsciously checked his collar. It was buttoned all the way. He stood there while the woman continued stocking. He believed in auras but he wasn’t sure about aura reading at first sight, maybe it was a sign of a true reader. He would have to talk with her about auras later he needed to focus on interviewing a potential witness. 

“In the back to your left she should be in the indoor greenhouse," The woman said nodding to the back hallway 

He followed the directions and went to the back of the small little store he could hear music playing and scraping on gravel. He could feel it physically getting hotter when he came to a stop at an opaque door. Opening the door, he saw her. 

Wearing a black University of Maryland sweatshirt and grey yoga pants, a short athletic young woman struggled to drag a huge potted plant across the gravel flooring. Her hair was like a fiery sunset on the horizon that Mulder couldn’t help but stare at. She must have not heard him in the hallway and when she caught a glimpse of him it took her by surprise, knocking the plant from her grip and therefore knocking her off her stance. He jumped forward to help her steady her footing. Doing so he managed to kick a plant stand over and tripped himself into falling right where she was standing. The two of them collided while being dusted with dirt and potted plants. 

Laying there on the hard gravel Mulder could hear a frustrated sigh come from the woman he tried and failed to help. As the gravel rustled, he saw her looming over him, her nose pinched up at the bridge as she crinkled her startling green eyes. 

“Who the hell are you,” She pursed her lips as Mulder recognized her voice as the 911 caller. A smiled spread over his face and extended his hand to her. 

“Special Agent Fox Mulder”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> man I'm sorry if that was a bad chapter I just so badly wanted my thoughts to get into writing it took me forever to figure it out. I hope its ok for yall


End file.
